LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Special Prosecutor Ric Hertel says according to Indiana law, former Sheriff Jamey Noel will serve at least nine years in prison. Noel officially got a 15-year sentence on Monday; 12 years in prison and three suspended to probation.
Noel was charged with level five and six felonies. Hertel says level five felonies require 75% of a sentence to be served and that is what the court considered.
If you search "Jamey Noel" in the Indiana Department of Corrections database, you get no results. So, Noel may still not be assigned to a prison.
"With reluctance, I will accept the plea agreement," Special Judge Larry Medlock said on Monday.
Medlock said he went back and forth many times on whether or not to accept the plea deal. After sixteen victims had spoke in court Monday, Medlock called his chief probation officer in Washington County Myra Albertson to testify.
"Now that you've heard several of them, do you still make that same recommendation?" Medlock asked.
"I do," Albertson said. "The sentence that has been presented is actually aggravated somewhat. And so, of course there's no way we can go back and fix what's happened in the past, but I think this is fair."
Medlock acknowledged he could possibly give Noel a longer sentence if it went to trial and he was convicted of 27 felonies, or possibly all 31. However, he reminded everyone Noel could then appeal the decision.
He also corrected anyone who might think you just add 2 to 3 years for each of the 27 felonies Noel pleaded to.
"You can't just take each count and add a year. There's issues concerning continuous criminal conduct, and minimum and maximum and how they're tied together," Medlock said. "So, as I've analyzed this, I've come to the conclusion that it's a very substantial sentence, considering that these are level five and six felonies."
Level five and six are the lowest levels of felonies in Indiana.
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